Sweet Revenge
by midnighters
Summary: There was only thing Edward hated the idea of more than Bella being dead; Bella being living dead. Victoria, alone without James and Laurent, seeks the ultimate revenge. Perhaps she has found a new companion in the human girl she hated so much. [REVISED]
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I originally posted this story under the username icekitten (and God help me if I'll ever find those log in details) and I I recently revisited a fic I loved all those years ago because it stills pops into my mind every now and then and it still makes me sad to see it incomplete. So I figured, what the hell. I'll come back to this story and see it through.

I'm gonna start by revised the first two original chapters a little and then go from there.

I hope you guys enjoy! And thanks for waiting!

Bella's eyes flickered open and saw nothing. The room was pitch black of course, at this time of night. She lay in bed trembling in the damp sheets, breathing labored, hair almost choking her as it clung to her neck. She struggled to regain a sense of her surroundings, to calm herself. The nightmares were getting worse.

Charlie's despondent groan was clear through the walls. She'd woken him. When all this had started, months earlier, he had been at her side in an instant. Now he paused. Now he considered, though he never followed through, the option to go back to sleep and not face it yet another night.

"Sweet dreams?" a voice asked.

Bella shot up at the sound. It was a woman's voice and she knew she wasn't still dreaming. Her eyes took far too long to adjust to the light. She scanned the room. Beyond the foot of her bed, there was a silhouette. Fear seized her chest. After a moment she was able to make out a flare of red in the darkness. She blinked furiously. Her vision finally acclimated and she found herself staring into the eyes of a tall, fire-haired vampire.

Victoria. Hairs all over her body sprang upright. She straightened in bed and stared wide-eyed and unblinking at the predator across from her. This was it, then? No one left to save her. No way to run and even less to fight. Her breathing calmed at last. She was about to die. She had known this was coming. She only prayed that tonight Charlie would finally choose to stay put.

"You have a lovely home," Victoria stated, eyes gliding over the small room. "Very quaint."

But Bella couldn't take her eyes off her. She watched, still amazed in some small corner of her mind, the inhuman grace with which the vampire explored her bedroom. How ironic… watching this woman, knowing precisely what she came here to do, waiting for her to make her move, and it was the anticipation that was killing her.

"You're here to kill me so just kill me," Bella spoke with a boldness she didn't feel. If this had to happen, she at least wanted it to be over with quickly.

Victoria laughed.

"I'm not here to kill you," she said.

Bella wasn't entirely perplexed by the statement. She'd been warned Victoria would make it slow, agonizing. She swallowed the lump in the throat and painted the worst case scenario in her mind, bracing herself. Days? Weeks? Could it be dragged out for weeks? Her mind returned to the dance studio. She wouldn't have lasted weeks…

"I have a proposition for you."

Now Bella was perplexed. Had she heard that right? "A proposition?"

Victoria moved like a cat across the room, suddenly closer, perched on the edge of the bed. She kept her cold, ruthless gaze fixed on Bella. She was making conversation, apparently. Perhaps this was part of the torture.

"As you may be aware, I've spent the past few weeks trying to kill you."

Bella kept quiet and still. She had no idea how to interact with this woman, this creature. Much less did she understand where all this was going.

"Firstly - and this not an apology - I would like to be clear that I have nothing against you," she continued and then chuckled softly to herself. "Well, I can't say I like you very much but my interest has always been with Edward. He's my real target."

Edward. The familiar pang shot through her chest at the mention of his name. She waited endlessly to get stronger, for the moment when his memory wouldn't sting. But it always did.

"At first I was just going to kill him," the murderess stunned her back into the present. "There was so much rage that my judgement was clouded. All I could feel was the desire to make him pay."

Victoria looked down then, the furrow of her brow shadowing her eyes. She seemed lost in thought, reminiscing. For a brief moment, before she lifted her head, Bella thought she saw a reflection of herself.

"But as I composed myself and thought more carefully about how to make him suffer I realized the best way to get to him was through you. And now here we are."

Bella focussed on her breathing. Fear and anxiety coursed through her at the proximity of the vampire. She felt her pulse racing in her throat and inwardly cursed. She didn't need to entice her.

"As you've probably noticed, I then hunted you with the intent of killing you in the most excruciating way possible," the smile on her face was downright cheerful. "And I would've succeeded by now only it seems you have a talent for keeping unusual company."

The corners of Bella's mouth twitched, threatening to pull up into a smile. She would have to remember to thank Jake and the wolves properly for their help. If she lived through this…

"Anyway," Victoria continued. "When I reviewed the tape James made of you more closely, I noticed something strange. James bit you. Edward sucked the venom out. I mean, you were bloody and broken! There was no way you'd survive. If he'd left you to turn, you almost certainly would've lived but he preferred to take the chance and remove the venom. He damn near killed you himself, the amount of blood he took. Shame, really… That would have been so poetic."

A frown crossed Bella's face. As much as she was enjoying this trip down memory lane, she still didn't see where this was going.

"It occurred to me then that Edward fears something more than your death. He fears you becoming one of us."

 _No kidding,_ her mind threw at her. Edward had made no secret that he detested the idea of her becoming a vampire. He'd told her it was because of her soul. It was for her own sake. She knew better now. She knew it was simply that he didn't want her, for any stretch of time, let alone forever.

Once again, she flinched at another stab. But she refused to let out even a whimper. She would not show her weaknesses, as abundant as they were, to this killer.

"Bella, what I'm suggesting to you," Victoria spoke perfectly clear with a tone of absolute seriousness. "Is that I turn you into a vampire."

Bella's eyes bulged. Had she heard that right? Was this really the reason Victoria had gotten this close only to spare her life, at least long enough to say all this? To offer her this?

Her lips stuttered around the word, it seemed like forever since she had last spoken. "…Why?"

"I've explained why. It's the worst that can be done to Edward. And I know immortality is what you crave. It's what everyone craves. And besides…" her eyes softened now. "James is gone. And don't even get me started on Laurent taking off. I'm facing an eternity alone and I don't like it. I could do with the company and you'll do… for now."

Bella blinked. She could not believe what was happening. "You want to turn me into a vampire so you and I can be best friends?"

"I wouldn't put it that way," Victoria scowled.

There was silence then as each side appraised the other.

"What makes you think I'd agree to this?" Bella asked.

"Well, firstly I don't need you to agree," Victoria laughed. "But mostly, it's because everything I do is designed to hurt Edward. And judging by the way you were screaming in your sleep earlier, I'm guessing you're looking to do the same."


	2. Chapter 2

_Mom,_

 _Calm down, OK? Everything's gonna be fine._

Bella's fingers paused over the keys after each sentence, deliberating.

 _It's not like you're never gonna see me again, we'll have the holidays, you can come visit or I can catch a plane to Florida; it's a much more direct flight from there. It's really not gonna be much different from me living in Forks. Please calm down. I'm going to college - not dying!_

She read through the message (it was too short… but maybe that made it seem more authentic?) checking for mistakes. She wondered for a moment when she'd gotten so good at lying. Satisfied, she signed off with

 _Love,_

 _Bella._

and hit send.

From downstairs floated the aroma of burnt meat. She smiled to herself as she grabbed her shoes and headed for the door. Skipping down the stairs, she heard voices and laughter coming from the backyard. The barbecue was just getting started, the first of the burger victims had been claimed.

She walked out to the crowded garden and smiled at Charlie. He stood over the grill in a chef's hat and _Kiss the Cook_ apron. He smiled back at her wholeheartedly and then returned to his conversation with his friends. They were probably talking about fishing. He looked happy, grinning so widely it stretched out almost all his wrinkles, the only ones left were laugh lines. She noted that on sunny days he looked years younger.

She searched for someone to talk to. The party consisted of Charlie, Billy and Harry Clearwater, Harry's wife Sue and their kids, Leah and Seth, a couple of Charlie's friends from work along with their partners and finally, Jacob.

Jacob. She gravitated across the grass toward him. He lay sprawled out, soaking up the heat. He was shirtless, as usual, in cut-off jeans, showing off rippling muscles beneath perfect golden skin. She stopped to admire him.

"Checking out the goods, Swan?" Jake goaded, eyes still closed.

"Shut up," she smiled and lay down next to him.

Clouds were ever-present above Forks but today they were fluffy and mobile, the kind of clouds you make shapes out of, tell stories, predict the future.

"How's things?" Jake asked lazily.

He was so much like his old self Bella couldn't fight the smile. "Good," she answered him. And things were good. She glanced back over at the party, in the direction of laughter and endless chatter. She saw, when no one else did, the glances between Charlie and Lisa, a woman from the station. Everything was falling into place, not just for her but for everyone. She smiled softly and turned back to Jack, who was looking at her.

"Finally got your mom on board?"

She stared long into his eyes, in spite of herself. "Not really. But she'll come around."

"Bella! Jake! Come get your burgers!"

"I'll get these," Jacob offered, standing.

Bella was left alone with her thoughts once again. She went over her checklist: her room was all packed up, her luggage was ready, she had her ticket, her passport, the acceptance letter (Charlie had wanted to frame it but Bella couldn't bear to let him display a forgery so proudly next to his own achievements.) Everything she needed was ready.

Jacob returned with two burgers on one plate. "Here you go."

She took hers, admittedly peckish, and before taking the first bite, Jake had finished his.

"You gonna eat that?"

Bella laughed at him and handed him the burger. It was a laugh that for a while only Jake could inspire, back when they were fixing the motorcycles. That all felt like a lifetime ago as she watched him eat.

The afternoon carried on in that fashion. Periodically, Charlie would call to them to collect more food and each time, Jake would devour both helpings. Bursts of laughter would erupt from Charlie's friends. Sue and the other women chatted away in the background, watching their men both with pride and displeasure. Leah was inseparable from her phone. Billy noticed eventually that Jake was hogging the food and threatened to fall over his foot.

Bella and Jacob remained at a safe distance. Even Seth didn't venture out onto the wet grass to join them. It was still damp even on the sunniest day. Bella didn't care. She was content lying here with Jacob. And besides, it meant they didn't have to curb their conversation topics.

"How are things with the pack?"

"Still quiet," Jake mused. "Everything sorta settled down after that redhead took off. We still don't even know why she was here."

"She was probably just passing," Bella deflected. "Most of them live that way."

"No… she came here for something," Jacob was miles away. "I don't know, it still bugs me. But it's been months, no whiff of her. We did catch one out on the trail last week, though."

"Oh?" Bella's stomach lurched.

"Yeah, that was one was easy. Didn't even run from us. Idiot. But it caused Quil to phase," Jake's eyes darkened.

"Really? Because of one vampire?" When _they_ moved into town, it only prompted Sam to phase but the pack had been growing ever since. Now it seemed even a single nomad could trigger the change.

"Yeah, so mostly we've just been teaching him our ways. Can you believe he's excited about it?" Jake didn't hold back any disgust. "Says it's good to finally be back in the loop." He shook his head.

"Well, maybe he's just happy to have his friends back," Bella offered. "Or he's proud of his heritage. You all should be. I'd love to be part of something like that." _A family like that…_

"Whatever."

The air changed then. These tense moments between them had become more sparse but they still occurred. Usually when the supernatural was brought up.

Heavier clouds moved in and the day darkened. A light drizzle preluded a downpour and everyone knew better than to stay outdoors. They packed away the barbecue and headed into the house. In the kitchen, Bella helped Charlie load the dishwasher and made small talk with one of the women whose names she didn't know. She and Jake were about to head into the living room when a balding middle-aged man stopped her.

"Hold up, lemme look at you," he said in a friendly yet overly familiar tone.

"Bella, this is Frank. A friend of mine from the station," Charlie explained. "You used to play with his daughter, Katie, remember?"

"Of course." She didn't remember.

"My God," Frank assessed her. "All grown up. You graduating soon?"

"Couple months ago, actually."

"Bella's off to Dartmouth," Charlie beamed. It cut Bella like glass to see the pride gleaming in his eyes.

"Man, that's incredible! Hey, Charlie, you remember when we took the girls fishing? That seems like yesterday…"

Bella slipped past them as they reminisced. Ever since graduation, this fog of nostalgia had fallen over the town. She couldn't stand it. She made her way into the living room where the others had gathered round the TV, her breathing jagged.

The hole in her chest ached dully. She got through each day by looking to the future, not the past. She took a seat in the middle of the crowd because it helped not to be alone. She stared dutifully at the screen and heard everyone's failed attempts at solving the puzzle as if from a distance. Letters appeared one by one on a giant, bright broad. T… E… R…

"What do you think, Bella?" asked a woman beside her, possibly the same one from the kitchen, she wasn't sure.

"Forgive and forget."

The ticking of the clock on the mantle echoed unbearably in her ears.

* * *

A week after Charlie Swan threw a barbecue for his friends, a man named Brett Parker dropped dead.

His pale, limp body slumped to the ground at her feet. That's where men like him always were, dead or alive. They would fawn and grovel, mesmerized. But all of them had the audacity to believe she returned their desire. A repugnant notion. It almost made the blood taste bad.

Victoria had to admit, of course, that she goaded them. Chemical reactions of lust were different from fear. Fear was bitter, acidic. But oh, how she loved when their hearts were pounding, when they got riled up and the blood rose to the surface. In a distant corner of her human mind, she recalled her mother telling her not to play with her food. _Fuck you, Mom._ She liked toying with them.

She sauntered back toward the main street. The sway of her hips was more pronounced. Maybe there was something in the science of it, but hot, agitated blood coursing through her always made her feel wilder and sexy. James had loved her most after feeding. He could never tear his eyes from her, he could never keep his hands to himself. She craved his touch now more than she craved blood.

She made her way through the streets of Seattle, a drab and fucking boring city, with a sadness clinging to her tighter with each step. So many lights and sounds surrounded her and yet all the world seemed hollow. She watched the people - males and females, all different ages, those things she could discern - walk to and fro. For the most part, they didn't see her or didn't care. She could slaughter every one of them, she knew. But the thought just didn't excite her anymore.

Her mind was with James as she drew closer to the airport. She liked to picture his smile if he knew what she was doing for him. She liked to picture Edward's face, too. Crestfallen, spirit eternally broken. It was as sweet as any dream she could have.

She reached the airport and headed to the lounge. She took a seat near the back to avoid attention. It wasn't long of course before a drink was placed before her.

"Where are you headed?" in her eyes, he looked no different to Brett Parker, whoever this one was.

"Nowhere," she smiled, running her fingers along the glass and holding his gaze. "I'm waiting for someone."

* * *

Bella fidgeted in her seat. She'd always fidget. No matter how many flights she and Renee had taken following Phil around, she'd never grown accustomed to the seats, the dank air, the sense of enclosure. She'd specifically requested a window seat to help cope with the journey and the portly fellow next to her held a grudge the entire way.

 _Call Mom when I land,_ she went over it again. _Tell her I'm safe. Tell her the next flight is stupidly long and I'll be exhausted. I'll go straight to bed and unpack later. I'll call her in a few days when I'm settled._

The seatbelt light came on and Bella only now realized she hadn't removed it to begin with. Well, no wonder she was uncomfortable.

 _Charlie will be fine. He won't expect a call and Mom can keep him in the loop. He'll call after like a week or something._

The flight attended stopped by and insisted the man beside her put on his seatbelt. He struggled to get it around his bulk.

 _Three days._ That was the biggest hurdle. It would be three days before she could send any further reassurances. After that, it would be easy… _I've got class. I've got homework. I can't afford the flight home, I've got no money. I've met someone_ (that would be a difficult lie to sell but a good one to keep ready), _I want to spend Christmas with him._

Bella rehearsed every line as the plane juddered unevenly onto the ground. Other fliers were nervous. She was nervous for far greater reasons. She took her overhead bag and followed the slow queue off the plane.

In the airport, she was greeted by the familiar sense of abandonment. No one was there to meet her at the gate and truthfully, she had no other ticket, nowhere to go.

She walked idly as hoards of people hurried past. Everyone had somewhere to be. But she simply took a seat on a bench in the midst of it all and pondered her ridiculous choices.

 _I could've_ actually _gone to Dartmouth,_ she chided. In reality, she had neither the funds for the tuition nor the criteria for the scholarship but her grades were good enough. Academics had always come easy to her (it was real life she faltered on). She could've easily gotten into any college… In fact, why had she invented such an elaborate lie? Everyone had held onto a fragment of disbelief beneath their pride.

Because it was _his_ idea…

Bella dropped her head into her hands and hated herself. This was Victoria's plan. This was part of the torture. Dangle the life she'd dreamed of in front of her and then simply don't show up. Bella was stranded now in Seattle, away from the protection of the wolves but worse still, with no life worth taking. She hadn't even applied to college! And for what? For _him_? What was she thinking? How could she have made the mistake of putting her faith in a vampire again?

She kept her head down and stayed put. It felt like a long time as she sat and listened absently to the bustle of the airport around her. Everyone had somewhere to be. That was nice. She pictured where they were all going.

"Yes, excitement. I recognize that emotion. It looks exactly like this."

Bella's head shot up though she wasn't sure this person had spoken to her. Before her, however, stood the tall feline figure of Victoria. Her eyes were almost glowing red. She'd fed recently. That was good… That made her slightly safer.

"You're here," Bella said in a small voice.

"Yeah, duh. Are we going now?"

Bella stood - no, she _rose_ from her seat, from her pit of despair. When she stood in front of the vampire, she felt the weight of misery fall from her. It was all behind her in this moment. She almost felt compelled to hug the woman. Victoria, in truth, was hopeless at reading emotion so just stared at her blankly. "Well?"

"Yeah," Bella answered. "Let's do this."


End file.
